April 5, 2011. UFF chapter and Faculty Senate seek administrator’s position on proposed
elimination of tenure and multi-year contracts
___________________ _________________
From: Teresa Hodge
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2011 9:33 AM
To: J. David Armstrong
Cc: BC; Will.Holcombe@fldoe.org
Subject: PRESIDENT ARMSTRONG - TENURE BILL - PLEASE RESPOND ASAP
Friday, April 1, 2011
Dear President Armstrong,
Since a bill in the Florida House of Representatives that removes tenure from
Florida statutes has been proposed, and is rapidly moving forward, we as faculty
leaders, on behalf of many hundreds of devoted and deeply concerned Broward
College faculty, staff, administrators, and students, respectfully request
information about your position on the bill and urge that a public statement be
made to us and the rest of the Broward College family.
HB 7193 (attached), initially submitted as PCB KCOS 11-03 (also attached),
appeared suddenly and unexpectedly when it was filed on Friday, 3/25/11. It has
been voted upon by the K-20 Competitiveness Subcommittee and will soon be heard
in the full Education Committee.
It is believed that, if passed, the bill would have massive repercussions for
the future of Florida’s college system that might damage the SACS accreditation
status of our colleges, and the ability of the colleges to employ and retain
faculty and personnel. On the American Association of University Professors
website is a statement that clarifies the definition and purpose of tenure,
especially its role in the preservation of academic freedom. The link is
http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/policydocs/contents/1940statement.htm.
HB 7193 essentially does three things:
(a) it proposes the dismantling of tenure, multi-year contracts, and continuing
contracts throughout the Florida college system (per Lines 151-153 of the bill,
which we have attached to this e-mail along with other relevant documentation);
(b) it requires that “all new personnel newly hired on or after July 1, 2011, by
a Florida College System institution board of trustees shall be classified as
administrative, instructional, or educational support personnel and shall be
awarded a probationary contract” before even becoming eligible for an annual
contract that one “may [or may not] be awarded” (per Lines 118-122 and
132-138+);
(c) it makes it illegal for Florida colleges to offer employment contracts of a
duration longer than one year for all Florida college system personnel
categories (i.e., in BC vernacular that means all faculty, all PTS, all
administrators… everyone) … with the sole exception being your presidential
contract and that of the other 27 Florida college system presidents (per Lines
147-150).
Within 96 hours of its being filed, the bill was approved by the fifteen-member
K-20 Competitiveness Subcommittee by a vote of 8 to 4, with 3 not voting
(attached). The vote was taken after only about an hour of subcommittee
debate/discussion and after only hearing testimony from five individuals.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Erik Fresen (R-Miami), a land-use consultant who is
also the Chair of the K-20 Competitiveness Subcommittee, brought the bill before
his 15-member subcommittee this past Tuesday (3/29/11).
During his presentation of the bill, Rep. Fresen was asked by Rep. Reggie
Fulwood (D-Jacksonville), whether he had “actually had a conversation with the
Florida College System and [whether] this [is] a bill that they support or feel
is needed.” In a very cautious, categorical response, Rep. Fresen replied that
he has had “several conversations with individual” Florida college presidents
who are supportive of the bill, but he did not name these presidents nor
quantify how many.
Based upon his testimony and other news reports, it appears that Rep. Fresen
never held discussions with the Florida College Presidents Council nor
Chancellor Holcombe. Is that a correct or incorrect inference?
HB 7193 was slated to be on the Education Committee’s agenda last Thursday
(3/31/11), but that meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 5, 2011.
Since HB7193 seems to be moving very quickly through the House, concerned
faculty and other BC employees, wish to know your position on the bill.
Consequently, it is crucial that the hundreds upon hundreds of extremely worried
BC employees know where our institution’s President stands on this vital issue,
especially in light of the fact that
· Broward College is among Florida’s largest and most prominent state
colleges;
· you, President Armstrong, have a long history and strong name
recognition in Tallahassee political circles;
· you were appointed several months ago to then-Governor-elect Rick
Scott’s education transition team; and, most of all,
· Broward (Community) College’s institutional culture historically has
been one where our College President and his leadership/lobbying team frequently
sought and valued broad-based interaction with (and input from) PTS, faculty,
and administrators at all levels.
Knowing your position on the matter before next Tuesday’s hearing will help
improve employee morale, broaden employees’ perspectives on this issue, and, in
so doing, help employees better formulate their individual and collective
lobbying efforts on HB 7193, no matter whether one supports or opposes the bill.
It is our hope to have a constructive and substantive dialogue that includes the
policy research, proposals, and perspective of BC employees.
Please respond to the following questions that have been asked by faculty
members and other employees regarding the bill.
· Do you support or oppose the continuation of tenure and multi-year
employment contracts for Florida college system employees; most notably,
faculty?
· What is the rationale for not having published a public statement
about this issue thus far? Please consider publishing a press release before
Tuesday’s meeting of the House’s Education Committee.
· Are you among the college presidents Rep. Fresen cites as having been
consulted about HB 7193? If so, what advice have you provided him and other
legislators on this issue? Has he discussed the matter with any other
Administrators or Trustees at Broward College?
During and since that meeting on Tuesday, several Florida college system leaders
have shared their views publicly, both pro and con. Michael Brawer, Executive
Director/CEO of the Association of Florida Colleges, has taken a strong stance
in opposition to HB 7193. We credit those individuals, regardless of their
views, for displaying the courage of their convictions. Will the Florida College
Presidents Council and/or Chancellor Holcombe soon be taking an official public
stance on HB 7193? If not, why not?
Respectfully, we thank you, President Armstrong, in advance for your prompt and
written attention to this urgent informational request. A public written
response will mean so much to so many loyal BC employees, their families, their
futures, our students’ futures, and the future of our state.
Cordially,
President Damon Davis
Current UFF-BC President
President Jim Lansing
Current BC Faculty Senate President
President Teresa M. Hodge
UFF-BC President Elect
Primary Documentation Source: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Committees/committeesdetail.aspx?SessionId=66&CommitteeId=2609
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